Secret Admirer
by Serena Thorn
Summary: Veronica finds herself with a secret admirer at Valentine’s Day.


Title: Secret Admirer  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: Veronica finds herself with a secret admirer at Valentine's Day.  
Characters/Pairing: Veronica/Lamb, Wallace, Keith, mentions most everyone else  
Spoilers: 3x14  
Word Count: 3377  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: I couldn't decide what I wanted to do for Valentine's Day so I enlisted help from the best shippers I know. Hope you guys like it!

* * *

Wallace sighed as he watched Veronica engage in yet another verbal sparring match with the local sheriff outside of the Sac-n-Pac. He and Veronica were just supposed to be there to load up on munchies for their movie night, but instead Veronica had apparently decided on creating a scene of her own when saw Lamb heading out of the convenience store just as they had been walking up to it.

Anyone who didn't know them would consider it harmless fun between (friends?) whatever they were. A crude remark about past bedmates here, a reference to incompetence and laziness there. But Wallace knew better than to leave them alone for long. Someone had to be sure he didn't end up arresting Veronica. Again.

The sight itself of them bantering with one another was nothing new, not even for Wallace's eyes, but he had to admit he was a little surprised they had been doing this in public more of late. The sheriff's department was one thing, it was his turf, it was no wonder she liked to kick him off his high horse there.

Either way, for a girl who claimed they all would have been better off had the rumors of his death not been exaggerated a year ago, she had sure been finding reasons to see him more ever since.

Favoring to remain among the living himself, Wallace had made sure to never voice that observation.

"Well when you get tired of those rich boys who can't get the job done, you know where to find me," Lamb winked to Veronica before heading off.

Veronica only rolled her eyes and stormed towards the Sac-n-Pac that time, refusing to get drawn back into even talking to him. "Come on, Wallace," she told him, seeming to finally remember he was there.

"Just a sec, Veronica, I just remembered I left my employee discount card in the car. I'll be right back," he said before he went jogging off.

With a sigh, Veronica headed into the convenience store. She just had to get out of the parking lot. Since when had hassling Lamb felt like actual work? The least he could do was get some new material, being reminded of ghosts of boyfriends past was really getting old.

"Hey! Sheriff, wait up," Wallace called out as he caught up to Lamb.

"What?" What could Veronica's little friend possibly have to say this time? He hadn't forgotten that Dorothy comment and really he was too tired for a repeat. He wouldn't let it show, but fighting with Veronica was taking its own toll on him. They were stuck with each other in their lives, fine, but this was getting ridiculous. He couldn't even get a six pack of beer and some gum on his night off without running into her.

"Look, I ain't gonna pretend like I know what y'all's deal is and I ain't gonna act like I care either. But Veronica's my friend and you guys have this really weird tension between you so why don't you two just do yourselves a favor and get a damn hotel room and get it over with?" When Lamb only stared at him, clearly trying to figure out just what he was playing at, Wallace added, "Okay, let me put it another way for ya. Why don't you go see the wizard and ask him for a way to get Veronica into your bed? Just don't tell her I said that."

Lamb scoffed as Wallace went jogging back towards the Sac-n-Pac. Okay, maybe he did spend more nights than he would ever admit imagining the various uses for Veronica's mouth that didn't involve chewing him out, but the idea of being able to make that a reality was just too unreal. Even if it was Veronica's friend telling him what he had just told him. He would have thought he was setting him up, but the kid seemed sincere.

Maybe he would take his advice after all. The wizard did owe him, he decided.

**

A red envelope had been left on Veronica's desk with the rest of her mail and it took her a few moments before she could bring herself to reach for it.

Valentine's Day was coming up fast and so far she had done well to avoid most of the commercialization. At least when she didn't have to run to the drug store and be faced with their garish displays and decorations. Still, she was single and had no intention of changing that fact. She had her work and she had… her work. She had decided after her latest break-up that a break, a long break, from men was what she needed. No distractions, no games, just her.

Naturally with that in mind what was clearly a Valentine's card on her desk was the last thing she wanted to see. Curiosity was a bitch however and with that she grabbed it and tore the thing open.

_Roses are red, violets are blue_

_This secret's hot as hell and so are you_

_Come Valentine's let turn this spark into a fire_

_Signed,_

_Your Secret Admirer_

Veronica laughed after reading it. This had to be a joke. It was hand-written for one thing and most of her friends knew she had no plans to celebrate Valentine's Day. She wasn't even a fan when she did have a date.

Still, there was no return address on the envelope. Only her name - her first name. And no postmark which meant someone was going through a lot of trouble for it. And if it wasn't a joke then she shuddered to think who would do this.

Logan? Never. He hated Valentine's even more than she did and his card would have likely included edible underwear. Another Hearst student? No. Why drive an hour to give her something they could have just slipped Mac or Parker to give her?

She wanted to put it out of her mind. She started by putting the card back into its festive red envelope and tossing it into her desk drawer.

Veronica managed to count all the way to 'seven' before pulling it back out and staring intently at the bright red cardboard as if her gaze could reveal the fingerprints with which she could use to decipher the sender.

Deciding another tactic, she thought again about the character of the person it could be. In theory it was someone who knew her, someone who knew she was currently single and decided that there was a spark between them. 'Hot as hell' revealed they weren't your typical poet, likely had more interest getting her into bed than indulging in the romance of the holiday.

_Well that narrows it down_,/ Veronica thought bitterly with a roll of her eyes.

**

A day passed and Veronica was still obsessing over who her secret admirer could be. She had interrogated Wallace who in turn claimed he didn't have a clue who would send her a Valentine, especially since so many at Hearst were afraid of her.

She had thought of Duncan, remembering when he had been Meg's secret admirer but there was no chance of that. Part of her almost hoped for Leo, but it had been two years since she had seen him and the way the card read just didn't sound like him.

Weevil had been next on her list, and also turned out to be a bust.

Just when she had begun to contemplate interrogating Mac and Parker about any guys that may have asked them about her, the phone rang.

"Mars Investigations," Veronica answered, somewhat relieved for the distraction.

"Veronica Mars?" the man asked.

"This is she. What can I do for you?"

"This is the Chateau Diamont. Your date requested that I phone to inform you of your reservation on the 14th at 8 P.M."

"My date?"

"Yes. He wishes to remain anonymous for the time being, but he's insisted that he will meet you here at 8 P.M. on the evening of the 14th."

The Chateau was a known restaurant, a rather upscale one at that. Dick? No. He would never let himself be seen at a place like that even if he was still with Madison. She thought to Logan again, but that was making even less sense somehow. 'Spark into a fire' implied she had never been with this person before so again that left out most of her previous suspects.

"If he calls back, tell him I'll be there," Veronica replied before hanging up. Now she had to know who it was. The wonder was sure to drive her insane otherwise.

**

The next morning had brought a nice, not inexpensive, bouquet of flowers with it. They served as proof that the surprises weren't done yet. The flowers had been delivered to the apartment from someone the delivery person said wished to remain anonymous once again. Veronica read the card and couldn't help the slight laugh it got out of her.

_As much as we may hate this holiday_

_I guarantee it'll be in my company you'll want to stay_

_Subtlety is clearly lost on this guy,_ Veronica mused. But the flowers were nice and they weren't your usual dozen long-stem roses. Some thought had gone into this. Money too, no way did this bouquet set him back any less than $100.

She wanted to go to the flower shop but with it almost being Valentine's Day, she knew she would get lost in the crowd in no time. For now she was resigned just to find out when she got to the restaurant. She didn't want to, she wanted to know what she was getting into. This could be a set up and as much as she didn't want to believe it could be, she knew she had to prepare herself for the worst.

The worst however seemed to be that her secret admirer wasn't kidding, for better or worse. The following day she saw that a box of chocolates had been left for her. And not just any chocolates. They were the best she had ever had. Godiva came close but these were even better than the best they had to offer. Probably more expensive too but she didn't want to think about that.

"Oh. My. God," Veronica all but moaned as she bit into the first just as Keith walked into the apartment.

"Do I want to know?" he asked as he looked to the red heart-shaped box in his daughter's hand and the blissful expression on her face.

"You've got to try these," she told him as she offered the box.

Keith reached for one and couldn't help but be impressed. "Belgian chocolates, nice. When did we get these?"

"Wait. What kind are these?"

"Belgian. They're good," he replied as he reached for another only to have Veronica pull the box back out of his grasp.

Veronica scoffed. German. Of course. The coffee table was right there, it was a wonder she wasn't already banging her head into it for having been so stupid to have not already figured it out. "They're from my secret admirer," she said finally. "My secret admirer who apparently has some knowledge of German chocolate."

"Sounds like a keeper to me," Keith commented as he finally managed another piece of candy.

If it wasn't February 13th, Veronica would have gone downtown to each of the specialty shops in the hope the employees would know who had bought them. She was almost certain she knew who it was now, but unfortunately he had a pretty generic description and it was doubtful they would know certain things about him if he had really wanted to remain anonymous. Hell, he might have paid them extra to keep quiet.

_Sounds like him alright._ At least she felt like she knew what to expect now. If only that had been a comfort.

Another card awaited her the next morning, in the office once more. She went straight for it, convinced it held the confession she had been after.

_Just a few hours left until our big night._

_Are you excited yet, Veronica?_

_Ready to meet the man behind the mystery?_

_Be at The Chateau at 8, you'll know me when you see me._

_As for you, you've had flowers and candy already._

_But there just might be some jewelry in it for you if you're naughty._

"Bingo," Veronica whispered. There was no doubt left for her now. The one and only. Her secret admirer had just given himself away.

The only surprise left was that she was actually going to go through with it and meet him. She would have her Valentine's date with him and if he was naughty, well, maybe they would be sharing that jewelry he had mentioned.

**

"Mystery reservation for Veronica Mars?" she asked when she reached the host's podium.

"Ah, yes," the man smiled. "Right this way."

She saw him almost as soon as the host walked her into the dining room. His suit was a nice one: Black and a little shiny with a black shirt and cobalt blue tie. She smirked at his choice of black and blue, thinking he probably picked it with the idea of how she would leave him by the end of the night for this. Veronica in truth had yet to decide if she would follow through on that.

Don was standing by the time the host and Veronica reached the table and he could tell already she had figured it out. He had expected nothing less. However he had to admit that he was impressed by her own attire tonight. A red sheath of a dress designed to kill him, or get him killed, her hair up to expose just a little more skin to his appreciative eyes and her make-up had made her skin appear to downright glow. Apparently he wasn't the only one serious about tonight.

"Lamb," Veronica grinned as she stood just in front of him, the host wandering off a second later.

"Mars," he grinned back.

"Flowers, candy and jewelry in it for me if I'm naughty, huh? Nickel plated bracelets, perhaps?"

He laughed as an ever so slight blush rose on his cheeks. He knew he should have gone for a little more subtlety with that one. "Can't be too careful, I know you. Speaking of, you knew it was me and showed up anyway. Looks like I've got a secret admirer of my own after all."

"I'll admit I didn't know it was you at first. The chocolates though, that did it. They were a nice, albeit obvious, touch. I didn't figure you'd go that far to see how much of your history I knew."

"Risky, I admit," he shrugged. "But it looks like it got the job done."

"I'd say the job is far from done, Sheriff," Veronica smirked before raising up to kiss him. It was Valentine's, she had agreed to this and maybe Wallace wasn't wrong. Maybe they would be doing themselves a favor if they finally gave in.

"Mmm, I like this," he told her through the kiss before managing to take his mouth back and say, "I like this, but dinner, then dessert. I'm not gonna have you thinking I'm a cheap date."

She laughed when he motioned for her to sit. He was and she knew it, but it was Valentine's Day night and they were on a mostly official date, she could forgive him this time.

**

For once Keith had managed to get back from his surveillance job early and just wanted to heat up the previous night's leftovers and get to bed early. However he couldn't help but be a little surprised to hear voices inside the apartment as he stood on the porch. He knew Veronica had agreed to the date with her secret admirer but he hadn't imagined she would bring him home.

"Get your hands off my box!" Veronica cried out with a laugh as one of Lamb's hands reached for her ribs while the other grasped the candy box.

"I paid for it," he reminded her as he pulled her onto his lap.

"Then you should've gotten your own," she shot back, choosing to ignore the fact that it was Don Lamb in her living room chair and his lap she was sitting in.

"This from the girl who said she didn't want dessert when we were at the restaurant."

"I wasn't in the mood then," she lied.

Lamb watched as she popped another candy into that perfect pink mouth of hers. "Fine. You want me to get my own? I'll get my own," he smirked just before he pressed forward and captured her bottom lip between his, his tongue wasting no time in gaining entry and teasing her own. She tasted like even sweeter the melted Belgian chocolate on her tongue but he had no complaints about either.

"Veronica, I was wondering -" Keith stated as he walked, careful to avoid looking up right away as he had an idea that if Veronica had brought her date home it wouldn't be for purely platonic reasons.

Breaking apart, Veronica and Lamb knew they couldn't do anything to keep from being seen in their somewhat compromising position but at least in theory they would be spared Keith seeing them kissing.

"You're back early," Veronica said, nervously looking to her equally uncomfortable date as she stood and moved to the sofa.

"Yeah, we might be out of business if more criminals were in as big of a rush to be caught," he smiled to her before shifting his gaze to the man beside her. "Don. You're here. Dare I ask why?" Looking the younger man over he noticed his suit, looking back to Veronica he saw her dress. In that moment he knew he didn't need words to confirm his suspicion. The sinking in his gut was taking care of it for him.

"I was invited," he smirked as he sat back in the chair, his hands grasping the armrests.

"It's not entirely what it looks like," Veronica told him.

"You know, Sweetie, this time I think I'm better off not knowing," Keith grinned as he held up his hands in surrender. His daughter was quite possibly sleeping with the enemy, that was already more than he had ever wanted to know. "I'll simply say goodnight and Lamb, if you want to keep your hands in their present condition I would highly suggest that you keep them to yourself as long as you're in my house."

A dad speech from Keith Mars. Don's night was complete. "Noted," he nodded as he stood.

"Night, Dad," he heard Veronica call out to him as he wandered back to his bedroom, his appetite having vanished somewhere between the time he saw his daughter in the lap of the sheriff and when he realized he had apparently been her secret admirer this week.

"I think he's warming up to me," Don sarcastically sighed.

"Oh, yeah, I think he's just thawed out to iceberg," she nodded before giving a soft laugh of disbelief. "See, I told you he wouldn't let you sleep over."

"You'd make me sleep alone on Valentine's?" he all but pouted as he took her into his arms again.

"What was that my dad said about if you wanted to keep your hands in their current condition?" she asked putting her index finger to her chin and looking to the ceiling as if to think about it.

"Then I won't use my hands," he countered before dipping his head and kissing her again.

_Okay! This whole melting when he kisses you thing? It has to stop._ Of course Veronica knew her thoughts would be easier to follow if her body would stop betraying her.

"Next weekend," Lamb told her when he pulled back, "you and me. A little wine, a little take out and maybe a little more -"

Before Veronica knew it he was kissing her again and clearly there was something wrong with her because not only was she kissing him back with matched intensity - again - but she heard herself agreeing to his proposition the moment they parted once more.

The End


End file.
